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New yard, question about when is best to install pipe.

I plan on using 1 inch SDR21 for the sprinkler system and I just would love to put the pipe down before they put down the topsoil. The excavator says I need to trench in the system after he's done but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with laying the pipe before the topsoil. I aggree with him that it's harder for him to work knowing the pipe is under his tracks but I just thought I'd ask jst in case someone has figured this out.

Do you want to risk breaking installed pipes when the excavator heavy equipment starts running over your fresh trenches? Not to mention the fact that the excavator might try to level out some of those bumps in the yard. That could result in the excavator digging up one or more of your burried pipes.

So it would seem to me, the only way to insure your pipes are protected from the excavator would be to install them a little extra deep. But that means MORE work BEFORE the excavator rather than less work afterwards. Then, the final pipes would wind up REALLY deep when the excavator has then added a layer of topsoil.

Second Thoughts:

If you KNOW the excavator isn't going to be digging down into the soil AND you have some really hard compact soil, and you REALLY want to do some of the work before the excavator shows up, then I could see digging trenches and placing the pipe in them. But I wouldn't want to risk putting in the risers and have anything above grade for the excavator to run over. So that would mean you would have to go ahead an glue in your Tees at the right location, then cap them to keep the dirt out, close your trench, let them lay the top soil, then you have soft soil to dig back down to the Tees to finish the work. But that risks you losing where one or more Tees are located once the system is covered up (you'd be suprised just how fast you'll forget the details of where and how pipe was layed once it gets covered up).

RE: New yard, question about when is best to install pipe.

Anytime we have installed a new system and they decide to do more dirt work after the fact they always end up tearing something
up. As for not putting in the sprinklers and just laying the pipe..how are you going to find your pipe after the dirt work is done ?
There is no way to flag it or mark the ground if they are doing dirt work.
So much easier to just wait..